


What the heart desires

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Bane Chronicles - Sarah Rees Brennan & Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: (in a way?), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Demons, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Magic, Magic Shop, Mundane Alec Lightwood, Raphael is a Little Shit, Surprise Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 09:36:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10682619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: "Back to the initial topic: you should stop encouraging the boy. He won't get anywhere with this fake magic bullshit and you know you can't introduce him to the real deal. It would be too dangerous for him and you," Raphael sighed, leaning his hip against the counter while staring intently at his best friend. "You know I'm right, Magnus, so why are keeping this nonsense up?""Because most people that come in here are either assholes or insane people. This kid, though...there's something about him.""He's achild."





	What the heart desires

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a picture of some magic shop on Tumblr and this random idea popped into my head. I don't even know...and it became quite a bit longer than I wanted.

"That kid is developing an unhealthy obsession with this crap," commented a smooth voice when the door to the small shop fell close with the soft ringing of the bell above it. The shop owner narrowed his golden painted eyes but didn't turn away until the maybe 11-year-old, dark-haired boy had disappeared from his line of sight.

"It's not unhealthy to develop an obsession with magic and it's certainly not as unhealthy as yours - you should really stop lurking in dark corners, my dear Raphael," he finally replied and grinned mischievously when one of his best friends stepped out of said dark corner, rolling his eyes at him.

"I'm not _lurking_ , I'm simply careful because the sun is still out," Raphael muttered, mild annoyance painting his words while he eyed the big windows of the shop that didn't seem to let any sunlight inside, despite it still being bright outside.

"You know the sun can't harm you in here. My spell is safe." Now it was his turn to roll his eyes at Raphael who had, once again, chosen to spend the day here but apparently didn't feel like sleeping through the whole day as usual. Vampires were a weird bunch most of the time but this one certainly was entertaining company.

"Back to the initial topic: you should stop encouraging the boy. He won't get anywhere with this fake magic bullshit and you know you can't introduce him to the real deal. It would be too dangerous for him and you," Raphael sighed, leaning his hip against the counter while staring intently at his best friend. "You know I'm right, Magnus, so why are keeping this nonsense up?"

"Because most people that come in here are either assholes or insane people. This kid, though...there's something about him."

"He's a _child_."

"That is not what I meant! He's a bright boy and something is clearly troubling him but he really seems to love learning these little tricks and it feels like I can help him this way. When he came in here for the first time two years ago, he was all quiet and glum looking - kind of like you, dear - but all of this made him open up," Magnus explained with a gesture at his small, slightly dusty shop. There weren't many people coming in here because most thought magic was nonsense for dumb kids. If they only knew that magic was actually a very real thing and that the owner of this shop was one of the most powerful warlocks walking the earth...

"I'm not going to introduce him to real magic, don't worry about that. But I want to continue showing him new tricks because it's clearly what brings him joy and where's the harm in that?"

Raphael huffed out an annoyed sigh and shook his head but didn't argue anymore. He still thought this was stupid, getting invested in the life of some mundane like that but there was little he could do about it. Magnus was stubborn as all hell if he wanted to be and even Ragnor wouldn't be able to talk sense into him at this point.

"Just be careful and don't get too involved."

Magnus rolled his eyes again when Raphael disappeared without a sound, melting into the shadows again and probably heading back upstairs into the spacious loft to get some more sleep until nightfall. He leant against the counter with a sigh, eyes scanning the room and snapping his fingers to make a magazine appear right in front of him on the counter top. It was highly unlikely that another customer would show up today but Magnus still kept the shop open until closing time anyway.

* * *

"Sometimes I wish magic was real and that I could make myself disappear," Alec sighed, his fingertips brushing along a few of the trinkets sitting on the shelves of Magnus's shop absently, eyes following the movement.

"Well, the trick exists even without real magic but it's not exactly one you can pull off without help," Magnus chuckled but he quickly caught on to the boy's gloomy mood and the fact that this hadn't been a joke or the urge to learn some more complex magic trick. He placed the magazine he had been flipping through onto the counter before walking up to the 15-year-old teenager who stood in his dimly lit shop, clothed all in black as usual, shoulders slumped but still with obvious tension in his whole body.

"What happened?" Magnus asked and he couldn't help the worry from creeping into his normally playfully light tone. He liked Alexander's company and the fact that the boy came into the shop at least two times almost every week for the past few years. Sometimes he felt like Alec had long since stopped coming by for the cheap fake magic tricks but simply for the company. It made Magnus wonder why the boy would rather seek the company of some 'adult' stranger than being with his friends when he seemed to feel unwell.

"Nothing, it's okay," Alec avoided the question and straightened a little, forcing a smile on his face when he finally looked up at Magnus. He didn't even have to look up that much anymore, not after the sudden growth spurt this summer. Alexander would soon be 16 and it would only take a few more inches for him to reach Magnus's height. His shoulders were becoming broader, muscles growing ever since Alec started archery a little over a year ago and Magnus felt conflicted about his realisation that this boy would surely grow into a very handsome young man - he always heard Raphael's scolding voice in the back of his mind about this being questionable. It was a little unnerving.

Though Magnus would never even think of approaching someone romantically who wasn't at least 18. And he certainly had no romantic interest in Alexander because the boy was just that, a boy, and it felt like he had been a child just yesterday. But Magnus could imagine falling for the teenager in a few more years when he would be closer to being a man. He himself was in the body of a 20-year-old but that didn't change the fact that he was actually a few centuries old already so the age gap even between him and every human was already long past questionable territory, technically speaking.

"Come on, how about a cup of tea or coffee and you tell me what's on your mind? Whatever it is, I promise it won't leave this store and maybe I can help out with some advice. I'm an old magician after all," Magnus replied, adding the last part with a joking wink, before nodding towards the back room of the store. Alexander had grown on him over the past few years and he felt like it was his duty to help the boy, to help him out with some advice if he wished to get one.

"I don't really want to talk about it but tea would be nice," Alec sighed, his shoulders slumping some more and Magnus smiled, gesturing towards the door while taking a small bow, causing Alexander to roll his eyes but the warlock didn't miss the hint of a smile pulling at the boy's mouth.

They went into the back room and Magnus sneakily snapped his fingers behind his back, causing the front door to lock and the sign flip to 'closed' so nobody could enter the shop in their absence. He put on a pot of water and prepared two cups with tea while Alexander sat down at the small table in the corner of the room, pushing his fingers through his hair.

"My grades have dropped a little lately and I'm having more fights with my mother because of it, that's all," Alec finally revealed what was going on in his mind after several minutes of silence. Magnus hummed softly while pouring the water into their cups before walking over to the table, placing them in the middle and elegantly sitting down across from the boy.

"Your parents always sound very strict," he commented carefully, watching Alexander's posture and the way he nodded slowly, "is there a reason why your grades dropped? Boring or difficult topics, maybe? Or is something keeping you from concentrating on it?"

Magnus didn't need his centuries worth of knowledge about human behaviour and his magic to read Alec almost like an open book. He had noticed that something was bothering the teenager lately but he never wanted to press for the boy to tell him about it. But when it started affecting his grades and caused him to get trouble at home, maybe a little more pushing could be helpful to get Alec to finally open up to someone.

"It's--it's not the topics. It's something else but--but I can't talk about it. It's--I shouldn't--it's not good," the boy muttered, his eyes fixed on the tabletop as if he was trying to stare a hole into it.

"Try me. Believe me, I've seen and heard a lot in my time and I'm sure you probably think it's much worse than it actually is. Tell me about it and I promise I won't judge you," Magnus offered, his voice soft and hopefully soothing. He wanted Alexander to be able to trust him because he merely wanted to help. It pained him to see Alec sad and insecure, it didn't suit his usually strong and confident nature at all.

"You talk like you're 70 yet you look more like in your early twenties," Alec commented and actually chuckled a little but his amusement disappeared as quickly as it had come up. He reached out for his tea, long fingers curling around the mug with its still steaming content. Magnus couldn't exactly say that he was over 400 so he simply kept quiet, waiting for the boy to maybe tell him what was bothering him so much.

"It's about Jace and...neither he nor anyone else can ever hear about this!" Alexander finally lifted his gaze and his hazel eyes were determined, despite the insecurity that was clear to see in them. Magnus almost smiled but he knew this wasn't the right reaction so he simply nodded and repeated his earlier words.

"I promise."

Alec took a deep breath, eyes dropping to his cup of tea again, and he tapped his fingertips against the ceramic, following the lines of the artful blue swirls on the white material. Ever since Ragnor had given him this admittedly gorgeous tea set, Magnus had actually developed the habit of drinking tea more often.

"I--I'm pretty sure I have feelings for him that go beyond friendship or what I'm supposed to feel for a brother," the teenager finally admitted, his voice soft enough that Magnus barely caught the words but it wasn't too hard to figure out why all of this distracted Alexander from his school work. Jace was Alec's adopted brother and he had been living with the Lightwoods for almost four years now. The two had quickly become good friends, best friends even, but Magnus had honestly suspected pretty quickly that Alexander might be developing deeper feelings for the other boy.

"I know I shouldn't feel this way about him. Not only is Jace my brother but he's a boy as well," he continued, the words almost pouring from his lips now and Magnus could imagine that it was a weight off the teenager's shoulders to finally talk to someone about it. "I always want to be around him, I get jealous when he talks about different girls at school and how cute they are..."

"Are you definitely sure it's romantic feelings? Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between the different kinds of love but getting jealous and wanting to be around someone doesn't necessarily imply romantic feelings. I don't want to invalidate your feelings, and let me tell you that him being a boy doesn't make it wrong, but I know it took me a long while to figure these things out."

"But I'm supposed to feel this way for girls, not for my _brother_ ," Alexander commented and ducked his head even more, clearly ashamed of his confession and Magnus resisted the urge to reach out to place his hand on Alec's. He wanted to soothe the boy somehow but he didn't want to cross a line in the process, even if it was just a friendly gesture.

"Do you want to hold his hand? Kiss him?" He inquired, trying to get Alexander to think more about the nature of his feelings to figure them out a little better. The boy was clearly scared and feeling like he did something forbidden and while Magnus could understand it, even if Jace was adopted he was still Alec's brother, this could also be Alexander just confusing his emotions.

"I never thought about it but...that's actually kind of weird?" Alec scrunched up his nose adorably, a thoughtful frown replacing the scared expression from a few seconds ago, and Magnus felt his lips curl into the faintest of smiles.

"That would be the best indicator of romantic feelings. Sure, some people love others romantically but still don't want physical closeness so it could be that you're a little in between with your feeling. You shouldn't feel guilty about it, though. You're still young and still have to discover this part of yourself; he's always around so it's not uncommon that you grew this attached to Jace."

Alexander looked up at him with a sceptical expression but he definitely looked a little more relaxed now than a few minutes before, finally lifting his cup to take a tentative sip of the still hot tea.

"I hope you're right but...he's still a boy," he muttered hesitantly after placing his cup back on the table and Magnus barely resisted the urge to sigh. He hated that society had this effect on people, that being anything but straight made young people doubt themselves and think that something was wrong with them.

"So? That's nothing you should feel bad about. I'm bisexual myself, I like both men and women, and if someone thinks there's anything wrong with that, then that's _their_ problem and not mine. You shouldn't believe what other people tell you about your own feelings - you have to figure that out for yourself and just own it, Alexander. There's nothing to be ashamed of, no matter if it's just one boy now or only boys from now on. Your sexuality doesn't determine who you are but it will probably tell you where the people around you stand."

Magnus shrugged and he knew this sounded like a very standard speech but it was the truth. He knew that it made no sense trying to lie to others and yourself because that way would never lead to a happy and fulfilled life. It was hard trying to accept the fact of being different than most people - may it be sexuality or, in his case, being a warlock - but the sooner Alexander would find the strength to stand up for himself and be who he wanted to be, the better and healthier for him.

Alec mumbled an almost shy sounding thank you after a brief, thoughtful pause and his cheeks were slightly flushed but he looked somewhat lighter and more relaxed than earlier when he had entered the shop and Magnus was glad he had been able to help the teenager with his worries.

* * *

"I knew you would fall for the boy sooner or later. It was bound to happen," Raphael sighed while kicking up his feet onto the expensive coffee table in Magnus's loft while watching the warlock patch up a few injuries with his magic that were the result of his last demon summoning job.

"You're like a broken record lately," Magnus sighed while the blue sparks from his fingers finished knitting the skin of his upper arm back together until there were no traces of a fight with a supernatural creature left on his body.

"I wouldn't have to be if you weren't a lovesick idiot who got distracted all the damn time these days. This is the third time this month that you got hurt during a job and those demons were weak ones that shouldn't have been able to get to you," the vampire replied with a glum expression, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"It has nothing to do with Alexander! I probably just need to take some time off, is all," Magnus huffed in return and ignored his best friend's sceptical expression. They both knew it had everything to do with Alexander. The boy as almost 19 now and he would soon move to a different part of the city to go to college which meant he wouldn't be able to stop by the small shop anymore. Alec's visits had become less already and Magnus couldn't help but worry that the teenager was simply losing interest in hanging around the store. It was surprising enough that he had stuck around for almost eight years already.

Magnus had known the boy would leave sooner or later and that it was always painful to get too invested in a mortal but he couldn't help it. Alec had made himself a home in the warlock's heart, first just as a child Magnus had wanted to protect and be a friend to but now, over the course of the past year, his feelings had stopped being the platonic kind. Even if Alexander wasn't a child anymore and almost a young adult, it still felt weird and kind of wrong to _love_ him because he had still been a child a blink of an eye ago - to Magnus the few years were like the blink of an eye, at least.

"A few days ago I was this close to showing him what I really look like," Magnus admitted in a soft, almost small voice after a brief moment of silence and he didn't have to look at Raphael to know the other was staring at him disapprovingly.

"You know you can't do that. You can't drag him into this world! You don't know how he would react if he knew all of this existed," the vampire reapplied with a stern tone and Magnus's shoulders slumped a little. Of course, he knew that. He was painfully aware of the fact that he had to keep up glamouring himself to look like he was some 40-year-old shop owner and not like he was forever stuck in his early twenties. Magnus wished he could at least confess his feelings to Alexander but looking the way he did to the boy...it would just be incredibly uncomfortable and probably creepy for the teenager.

"As you know, there is a party next week. The leader of the Boston clan will be in the city to celebrate his 600th birthday and my clan has to attend - you should come. Take your mind off things, maybe we could even convince Ragnor to drop by if we lure him with some good scotch and you old men can have a discussion about _the good ol' times_ or whatever."

"Old men? You're past 80 yourself, I'm pretty sure that counts as an old geezer as well," Magnus complained but he was unable to suppress a huff of laughter, especially when the vampire's lips twitched into the faintest of grins.

"I'm basically still a baby when it comes to immortals," Raphael dismissed, pushing his fingers through his hair and loosening some of the perfectly gelled back curls, causing a few to fall into his forehead and making him look more like the 18-year-old boy he had been before his turning. "So, the party?"

"I might show up but I can't tell yet," Magnus replied with a shrug and he didn't miss the other's incredulous expression in reaction to his words.

"Really, you never say no to a party and _you don't know yet_? This is more serious than I thought, huh?"

"Even I'm not always in the mood for a party, don't be so melodramatic about it. I'll message you soon enough and inform you about my decision, darling," Magnus replied with a fond eye roll, brushing a strand of hair from his line of sight. He was always told that he was the dramatic one but Raphael could be just as dramatic if he wanted to be.

* * *

An unfortunate event a few weeks before Alec was to move to a different part of the city and start university led to Magnus having to reveal his true self to the boy in order to protect both of them from an unexpected demon attack. The teenager was in the shop and looking through some new items even if he rarely bought anything anymore, mostly having outgrown his curiosity about learning new 'magic tricks' but he still always kept coming by. Magnus was reading a magazine at the front desk, as usual, when he suddenly felt the atmosphere change and crackle with negative energy.

His head snapped up and he was around the counter, walking up to the teenager with a few wide steps, in a matter of seconds. "I just remembered, I have a very important appointment and need to close the shop now to get ready."

Alec looked up from the object he had just picked up from the shelf, blinking at Magnus in confusing but he put the item back and nodded slowly, with something akin to disappointment in his pretty features. Magnus had to hold himself back from ushering the boy towards the door but that would surely be too suspicious. He accompanied the teenager to the door of his shop but they were still three meters from it when the back door smashed open with the sound of the door splintering under the force.

Magnus cursed and turned around, positioning himself in between Alexander and the black body of the approaching, growing demon that's teeth were dripping with greenish slobber that was surely poisonous. He heard the boy make a small, shocked sound behind his back but the warlock couldn't pay any attention to it, summoning a shield with a few elegant movements of his hand that stopped the demon mid-jump. The creature smashed into the shield and was thrown back from the impact, crashing into one of the shelves of the small store.

"You have no business here, demon!" This was what he got for not yet renewing the wards around the shop. Magnus had known it was time to strengthen them again but he had honestly thought they would be fine for a little longer. He was obviously wrong about that assumption and cursed himself for the naïveté, now having dragged Alexander into this whole mess and showing him a glimpse into his world.

The fight didn't last too long, he was the High Warlock of Brooklyn after all and such a measly demon was not much of a challenge but turning around to face Alec again was admittedly a lot scarier than fighting this stupid creature of darkness.

"That creature...was real," the teenager breathed, eyes wide and face paler than ever. Alec was clearly shocked by what he had just witnessed and Magnus's stomach twisted a little at the fear in the boy's hazel eyes.

"I'm studying some new tricks, quite convincing, huh?" Magnus asked but he knew that was the weakest excuse he could have come up with. He didn't have to wait for Alec's reply to know the boy wouldn't be fooled this easily so he decided it would be better to just be honest about it. "Yes, it was real. That was a real demon and real magic exists but you should've never found out about this. It's too dangerous for a mundane to know about our world."

"This can't be real. Magic can't be real! So, what, you're trying to tell me that you're an actual wizard?!" Alexander stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes and it was obvious that his brain was probably trying to come up with a logical explanation that didn't involve accepting any of this as real.

Magnus sighed heavily.

"We prefer the term _warlock_ and, yes, that's what I am," he replied softly and decided to de-glamour himself and showing his real appearance to the boy - sans cat eyes, he didn't want to go that far. He heard the boy gasp when his appearance changed with a snap of his fingers, going from the looks of a 40-something-year-old to those of the 20-year-old he had been when his body had stopped ageing. "This is the real me. I couldn't exactly walk around always looking like 20, it would have been weird after some time so I had to glamour myself to look older."

Magnus watched the teenager carefully and he hoped the boy wouldn't freak out because of this. He knew it was quite a lot to take in and that mundanes tended to rather think they were going crazy than accept that things like magic and monsters were in fact real. If Alexander did freak out, the warlock would have to wipe his memory to prevent this from going downhill and he would definitely prefer to not meddle with the boy's memories like that. Especially because there was no guarantee that the memories would stay gone forever and their resurfacing could cause a mess as well.

"This is crazy," Alexander's muttered after a moment of silence and shook his head, clearly trying to wrap his mind around this but apparently failing. He stared at Magnus, his eyes still wide and his fingers were curled into fists by his sides. "You don't look much older than me."

This comment certainly surprised Magnus and he tilted his head with a confused little frown and a huff of laughter. He had expected the teenager to turn around and leave or maybe call him a monster or something similar but this was such a...trivial thing to notice after everything that had just happened.

"Well, we warlocks stop ageing at a certain point in our lives. I stopped when I was 20," he explained with a shrug and actually felt a tiny bit nervous about the whole situation. If Raphael heard about this, he probably won't shut up about it for hours and recite a list of things why this was absolutely terrible before telling Ragnor and Catarina about it to 'talk some sense' into Magnus. Keeping it a secret from his friend wouldn't work out for too long, though, but he could at least try...

"You're not ageing anymore? That means you're, what, immortal?"

"Yes."

"So how old are you really?" Alexander's eyes were still wide but more with curiosity than fear or doubt and Magnus had to admit he was more than surprised the boy wasn't running for the hills, never to return. It warmed his heart that Alec wasn't scared of him but wanted to know more despite the fact that he must feel terribly confused right now.

"I was born in the early 17th century," Magnus admitted a little reluctantly because he usually didn't like talking about his age but he didn't want to be completely vague about it in front of Alexander. The boy deserved the truth after this shock and Magnus wanted the boy to trust him despite everything.

"So you're almost 4 centuries old? You definitely don't look your age," Alec replied with a surprised chuckle and Magnus had to resist the urge to pull the boy into a hug because it was incredibly amazing with how much ease Alexander seemed to take all of this when he was able to make a joke.

"You can achieve anything with the correct skin care products," Magnus went along with a grin, winking at the teenager before his gaze swept through the room with the now destroyed shelf and door, half of the shop being a mess. He was about to clean it up with a snap of his fingers but when Alexander suddenly offered to help clean it up, obviously not considering that Magnus could do so with his magic, he found himself agree way too easily. It was petty, he knew, but he would rather clean this up by hand and spend more time with Alec than snap his fingers and rob them of this perfect opportunity to talk some more.

Of course, the cleaning up was accompanied by a lot of questions - about Magnus himself, about magic and about what else was real. Alexander even asked if Raphael was a warlock as well, having met the clan leader a hand full of times in the shop because he definitely didn't seem to age as well and Magnus couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Raphael as a warlock. Alec didn't even seem too surprised when he learned that Magnus's best friend was actually a vampire and that the whole 'he's an author and has a wonky sleeping schedule' was just a very ridiculous excuse.

* * *

Magnus woke up early in the morning to banging at the downstairs door. He usually didn't open the shop before noon, not just because he loved to sleep in but also because the shop was just for fun - it wasn't like he actually earned a useful amount of money from the shop, it was more of a joke to sell fake magical trinkets as an actual warlock than a serious business. Magnus earned his money by offering his services to other Downworlder, occasionally to Shadowhunters as well for a much higher price, he barely made anything with the magic shop. The only regular customer for years had been Alexander and a few other kids every once in a while but Magnus always sold them things a little cheaper, at least the kids he liked - the few mean ones that wanted to buy items to prank other people usually got the things more expensive and sometimes he secretly magicked the items to fail when being used because he didn't want to support kids being assholes to others.

It had never happened that someone had shown up in front of the store in the early morning and Magnus wondered if something had happened. He quickly got up and snapped his fingers so he was at least wearing a robe before he went downstairs towards the front door and his eyes widened in surprise when he realised who was on the other side of the door.

Alexander. Drenched to the bone because it had been storming the whole night and it was still raining mercilessly. Magnus unlocked the door with a worried frown because this was more than unusual behaviour for the boy. Alec had moved almost two months ago and he had been back a few times, stopping by the shop when he visited his parents over the weekend and telling about how he tried to settle into the mess that was his new apartment and getting used to university that was completely different from school.

"Alexander, is everything okay? Why didn't you bring an umbr--"

He couldn't finish the question because after pulling open the door for the teenager to enter, Alec suddenly grabbed the front of Magnus's silk robe and pulled him closer, crashing their lips together and drawing a surprised noise from the back of the warlock's throat. This was certainly the last thing Magnus had expected from this sudden visit. He felt a shelf in his back where Alexander pressed him against it, absently shoving the door closed with his foot while he kept on pressing his mouth against Magnus's.

It didn't take him too long to reciprocate the sudden kiss, confusion over the whole situation mixing with his rapidly beating heart and the tingly feeling in the pit of his stomach from being this close to the teenager. Magnus couldn't help but notice that he had to tilt his head backwards the smallest bit because Alec had grown past his height by a few inches over the course of the last two years. He tentatively reached out to curl his fingers into the wet material of Alexander's shirt by his sides, pulling the boy just a little bit closer and not bothering with the fact that his robe was getting soaked as well.

"This...was unexpected," Magnus muttered, slightly out of breath when they ended the kiss and he glanced at the pink-cheeked, wide-eyed Alec who was still gripping the front of his robe as if he thought Magnus might flee otherwise.

"Yeah, I realised that--I just had to--Uh," Alexander stammered and he was clearly a little surprised about all of this himself which was admittedly endearing. Magnus hadn't expected the teenager to ever act purely on impulse when it came to anything but it was obviously what had happened here and it made him ridiculously happy to think that Alec _had to_ come here and kiss him without a hint of hesitation - not even caring about the weather.

"One would think it's nearly impossible to surprise someone who has spent a few centuries on this planet already but you certainly never cease to amaze me, Alexander," he commented with a gentle smile and soft voice, his heart beating even faster when the teenager ducked his head a little in response, his cheeks gaining some more colour.

"I guess I can take that as a compliment?"

"You should, my dear." Magnus smiled at the fact that Alexander suddenly looked almost shy, looking at him through his thick lashes and cheeks still dusted with pink. He certainly was the prettiest sight the warlock had laid eyes on in a very long time or maybe ever. Magnus had been with all kinds of Downworlders in his time but this mundane boy was so very different from all of them, even from the few mundanes he had been involved with.

Magnus couldn't resist reaching up to curl his hand around the nape of Alexander's neck to gently tug him closer for another kiss. The teenager had kissed him before so Magnus assumed it should be fine if he initiated the contact now and Alec basically melted against him, sighing contently against his mouth.

He knew his friends would _definitely_ give him shit for this development but Magnus couldn't find it in himself to care about it because he had lived through Raphael and Ragnor simultaneously scolding him for accidentally revealing their world to Alexander, he would definitely survive the _I called it_ comments from a certain clan leader and Catarina's surely following gentle teasing.


End file.
